Arca must rough it again

The pantomime season may be over for another year, but Middlesbrough will step out at Ashton Gate this afternoon with almost 19,000 Robins fans and millions more up and down the country casting them as villains.

The pantomime season may be over for another year, but Middlesbrough will step out at Ashton Gate this afternoon with almost 19,000 Robins fans and millions more up and down the country casting them as villains.

Just about the only people who will be hoping Boro win their FA Cup fourth round tie against the in-form League One side will be either from Teesside or on the pitch wearing white shirts.

There is little the British public loves more than seeing top-flight sides fall embarrassingly on their faces and few sporting competitions have made such a virtue of it as the FA Cup.

Football fans up and down the country will be cheering ever goal which hits the back of Mark Schwarzer's net.

Yet if the Teessiders continue their own fine recent form and romp to victory, it will barely register as much as a shrug of the shoulders from most neutrals.

Quite simply, Boro are on a hiding to nothing.

For Julio Arca the match represents everything he moved to the Riverside Stadium to escape.

The talented Argentinian grew weary of Sunderland's all-too regular stints in the Football League and reluctantly left his beloved Black Cats this summer rather than face another season of the high-on-brawn, low-on-skill Championship football he openly admitted to loath.

When quizzed about the prospect of taking on League One opposition, however, Arca put a brave face on it. Instead the 25-year-old is determined his side should stamp their own brand of "proper" football on the contest.

"The Championship is a hard league to play in," Arca admits.

"I'm not saying everyone plays the same way but normally you play against teams that play long balls towards big strikers and in midfield sometimes it's hard to get the ball because you're running from one end of the field to another without getting the ball.

"You see the ball in the air more than at your feet.

"That's why we have to go there, play as well as we can and try and keep the ball. If you let them play from the beginning that's maybe what they will do."

Gary Johnson's side, one of three teams tied on points at the top of their division with Scunthorpe United and Nottingham Forest, have a reputation as a decent passing side, but Arca is not kidding himself about what he is about to endure.

"I haven't seen them play much this year but they're probably going to attack from the beginning and try and get their fans behind them," he reasons. "That's what happens when you play away.

"We have to try and control the game if we can from the beginning."

Regardless of the nature of the contest, though, Arca is determined not to let it wipe the smile Boro's recent performances have put on his face.

"As a player you have to try and enjoy every game you play," he says. "That's what football's about.

"It's a shock but we're lucky to do what we love. No matter where you play you should try to enjoy it.

"You have to work even harder against teams from lower divisions because we know how hard the will work.

"We're expecting a tough game, a hard game but we're not scared to see what happens. We're looking forward to going there and playing a good game."

But if Arca is lukewarm about facing League One opposition on their own patch, former England defender Gareth Southgate gives the impression he would rather be on the pitch than watching from the dugout.

"As a player I used to enjoy playing away," said the Boro boss. "You were taking on the opposition players and their fans and I used to like that challenge.

"We've got passionate players in the squad and they're showing a lot of character at the moment.

"It will be no tougher for us than Hull in the last round or Nuneaton and Coventry last year.

"Bristol are on a good run, they're a good football team and it will be a full house.

"That's the sort of challenge you look forward to as a footballer.

"Every team that takes on Premiership opposition feels it's going to be their day. We've got to deal with that expectation.

"Every time you step out as a Premier League player against lower division opposition you put your reputation on the line. That's one of the hard parts about being a pro.

"We've got to stand up to that challenge and make sure we come through it. Pressure is what you put on yourself and we want to get through."

Do that and Arca might be hoping for rather more high-profile opposition in round five.